IPR (INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS) FOR ESP (ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES) PROTECTION–THE ROAD AHEAD

Abstract

Intellectual property protection is a means to protect and safeguard one’s own creation,invention and indigenous knowledge. Not confined to novel inventions having commercialviability alone, intellectual property rights are a means of ensuring the originality of any work shall not go unnoticed and unattended.

The intangible property which is a creation of one’s intellectual facets, the mind to bespecific, whereby an idea or thought gets converted into a product or a service that shall be put to use does call for the protection of the intellectual creation and this extends in the realmof intellectual property laws and right into various domains including patents, trademarks,copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets, plant varieties, geographical indications,appellation of origin and integrated circuit designs to name a few in the ever evolving and emerging areas of intellectual property.

Traditional knowledge which is not confined to only medicinal or beneficial products but alsoincludes the traditional art and performing arts and designs which is geographically specificleaning on being indigenous is a fast-emerging area of the intellectual property rights domainand this article focuses primarily on those indigenous and inherent environmental sustainable practices which are traditionally followed in native societies hence contributing to the sea oftraditional knowledge across the world. The paper also tries to suggest a way forward for the protection of environmentally sustainable practices, focusing on the domain of green intellectual property, an emerging area of green technology.

The combination of the traditional knowledge and innovative technologies towards a greenintellectual property protection is perhaps one of the feasible options for the attainment ofsustainable environmental goals and perhaps a step towards the Sustainable Development Goals SDG-2030.